Feisty bar-goers get business end of Tasers, pepper spray

A disturbance involving 30 to 40 people in the parking lot of a Hilton Head Island nightspot Saturday led to two men being shot with a stun gun, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

When deputies arrived at One Hot Mama's parking lot at 7 Greenwood Drive about 3 a.m., the crowd of shouting people dispersed. Some walked to the front of the nearby Wachovia Bank, and others went to the bank's back parking lot, a Sheriff's Office report said.

When deputies asked those in the back parking lot to leave, several people began to curse and refused to go, the report said.

A 23-year-old Hilton Head woman got into her car and shouted at deputies, "We aren't leaving this (expletive) parking lot!" When authorities attempted to arrest her for public disorderly conduct, a friend tried to stop authorities from putting her in handcuffs, the report said.

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Demetrius Jones, 22, of Hilton Head approached a deputy in an "aggressive manner," and the deputy hit Jones in the chest, the report said. Jones fell to the ground where he was told to stay because he was under arrest. Jones then stood up, clenched his fists and began growling at the deputy, the report said.

The deputy then pulled out his Taser and told Jones to get back on the ground, the report said. Jones continued to growl and clench his fists, and the deputy shot him with a stun gun, the report said. Jones then put his hands behind his back.

Brenton Cue, 22, of Hilton Head, then tried to interfere with Jones' arrest, the report said. Cue got out of the car and ran toward his now-arrested friends. Deputies attempted to stop him, but Cue began to curse and tried to break free, the report said.

Cue tried to slap and kick the deputies, the report said. After warnings from deputies, Cue was sprayed in the face with pepper spray but continued to fight, the report said. He was stunned twice with a Taser before he stopped resisting, the report said.

Paramedics determined Jones and Cue had no injuries, a report said. They were taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center and charged with public disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Both were released Saturday on bonds of $2,762, according to the Beaufort County jail log.

The woman who cursed at deputies was charged with misdemeanor public disorderly conduct.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner was unaware of the circumstances of Saturday's incident but said Monday night the department reviews any instance in which a deputy uses force during an arrest to determine if the force was necessary and proper. No schedule has been set for the review, he said.